Video by Jamie Aciukewicz, winner of the 2023 Student Symposium in the College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences undergraduate category.

Overview of the Process

  • UMass Lowell student participants must first submit an abstract (up to 250 words) through the InfoReady portal by Tuesday, Feb. 20 at 11:59 p.m. All abstracts must be approved by a UMass Lowell faculty or staff advisor in order for your video to be considered. 
  • Once the abstract is approved by the UMass Lowell project advisor, the student who submitted the abstract (lead author) will receive an email with instructions for how to submit your video. If it is a team submission, the lead author will need to inform all members of the team of the next steps.
  • Video submissions will be posted by an event organizer to the UMass Lowell Student Symposium YouTube Channel for a period of viewing and voting. Viewers will be able to vote for their favorites (via the "like" button).
  • During the viewing period, a team designated by each college dean will view videos and select a certain number of finalists proportional to the number of submissions from their college to continue to the next round. In the final round, finalists will be asked to participate in a live presentation with a panel of 3-5 judges.
  • Students may elect to only compete in the first round of the competition by submitting a video. These students will be eligible for a Fan Favorite award. At least one oral or poster presenter will be selected as a "Fan Favorite" winner from each college based on the number of "likes" on YouTube, feedback from attendees, and input from judges.

Video Guidelines & Requirements

  • All projects must be submitted as a 3-minute (maximum) presentation video. Presentation videos that exceed 3 minutes will not be accepted. Please be sure your presentation video does not exceed the time limit.
  • All videos must be submitted as a mp4. file.
  • Students are encouraged to be creative with their videos as long as the videos effectively demonstrate their projects. Students can use one or a mix of elements and formats such as multiple slides, demos, interviews, animations, etc.
  • Presentation videos that include information collected from human subjects require approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) prior to data collection. Please contact your project advisor if you have questions about whether your project is subject to IRB approval and how to acknowledge approval during your presentation video.
  • Captions for presentation videos will be automatically generated by YouTube. Please ensure you include clear audio as it is key to quality captions.

Video Creation Resources and Tips

  • Review the list of 2023 Student Symposium winners. It may be helpful to view their videos as successful examples.
  • Students are encouraged to use recording tools currently available to them such as a webcam, cell phone camera, iPad, etc. You can also record your presentation as a PowerPoint presentation with voice-over narration. For step-by-step instructions on how to record a PowerPoint presentation with voice-over narration and save it as a .mp4 file, visit Microsoft's support page for recording a presentation. Another option for recording your presentation is to animation software.
  • Video editing is encouraged. For suggestions on free editing software visit Hootsuite's blog post, Best Free Video Editing Software: Top 10 for 2024.

Viewing Audience

  • Presentation videos will be available for public viewing on the UMass Lowell Student Symposium YouTube Channel.
  • The viewing audience will include fellow students, UMass Lowell faculty, deans, department chairs, alumni, community partners, and others in the extended UMass Lowell community. In addition, we anticipate middle school, high school, and prospective UMass Lowell student viewers. Please keep this in mind as you develop your content and record your presentation video.
  • Once the viewing period opens, student presenters are encouraged to promote their own video with family, friends, faculty, colleagues, etc.
  • During the viewing period, viewers will be able to post questions and comments on individual presentation videos using the YouTube comment feature and will have the opportunity to vote for presentation videos (via the "like" button). Students should monitor and respond to the questions and comments on their video throughout the viewing period. Actively engage with those who took the time to view your video! Please remember that replies to viewer questions and comments should be appropriate and professional. Also remember that the viewers of your comments are likely to represent a range of ages and expertise.